Applications for public fitness briefings run by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department have exceeded capacity by 14 times, sparking calls from lawmakers and industry leaders to reform access rules and punish no-shows.
The surge in demand was highlighted in an Ombudsman announcement on Tuesday, which detailed severe oversubscription for introductory courses at LCSD gyms across the city.
Lawmaker Dennis Leung Tsz-wing suggested replacing monthly passes with multi-entry pass packages or capping daily bookings to ensure fair access.
Leung also urged authorities to penalize users who repeatedly fail to show up by restricting their booking privileges, while expanding course capacity using the department's 87 district fitness coaches.
Gordon Yau Yick-chung, chairman of the investigative panel of the Hong Kong Fitness Guide, proposed modernizing access by shifting mandatory briefings online through video tutorials and short quizzes. Yau also recommended recognizing commercial and international coaching qualifications to streamline entry.
To address no-shows, Yau suggested financial penalties, such as raising monthly fees from HK$180 to HK$200 or higher for users who fail to attend two or three booked sessions without canceling.
